CAMPO approves $633 million funding diversion for highway boondoggle

On Monday, April 20th, the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) voted to divert funding from approved mobility improvement projects to fill a $633 million funding gap in the I-35 reconstruction project. The deferred project list has yet to be finalized but included on the list for consideration are projects to improve walkability, bikeability and transit in the region.

Many members expressed concern over the defunding of local projects but only Austin City Council Member, Jimmy Flannigan, voted against the proposal.

Lauren Banister, TexPIRG Transportation Associate, offered the following testimony at the meeting:

“We at TexPIRG were disappointed to see that CAMPO is considering diverting $633 million from pre approved projects to an expansion of I-35.  A project that we have called out as one of the nation’s worst Highway Boondoggles.

The potential projects on the defer list include smart investments that would improve transit and multimodal projects in Austin. 

We all know that I-35 has a congestion problem. But research by the TexPIRG education fund shows that highway expansion is not the solution to a city’s traffic problems. In fact, the phenomenon of induced demand is so recognized that it is now being called, “the Fundamental Law of Road Congestion”. Put simply, if you build it, they will come.

So if we want to solve our mobility problem, we must work on the other side of the equation: supplying people with more options for getting around. The potential projects on the deferred list would do just that. 

Transportation is the nation’s leading source of greenhouse gas emissions. Buses, trains, walking, and biking  all produce less emissions than their automotive counterparts. 

We need more investment in transit improvement and active transportation not less. We need to ensure that people in Austin have options to get around. Options that are good for public health, the environment and will help relieve congestion.

I urge you to keep the funding that was already approved for multimodal transportation projects and vote no to divert this money to I-35.”

Photo credit: Pixabay, Public Domain